


Coffee

by BellaBambooCat



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Coffee, Endgame spoilers for both games, F/M, Finish the game first!!, Spoilers, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Spoilers, Xenoblade Chronicles Spoilers, contains artwork
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2019-10-03 03:48:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17276528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BellaBambooCat/pseuds/BellaBambooCat
Summary: Galea talks to Klaus. Coffee is involved.Basically exploring the mind and worries of Galea and her longing of friendship with Klaus.





	1. Late Night Talk

It was nearly 1 in the morning. The A.I. that Galea’s team was working on was nearing its completion. She was excited- this was the culmination of years of work. She was satisfied with completing her work, even if she had to stay quite later than usual. As she was about to leave, she looked around and saw two other people in the room: a man sprawled across his desk in slumber and her desk neighbor, Klaus. It was already long past working hours on the satellite, so she went to her snoozing coworker and woke him up. With a startled gasp, he woke up and closed his computer down, thanking Galea for saving him from unneeded future back pain. She smiled as he rushed off to his quarters.

Klaus was glued to his computer screen, as always. She walked over to his desk. Up close he looked a bit pale, but she figured it was because his screen was way too bright for being in the dim room. His eyes shone in the blue light, but she could tell he was tired by the circles under them. She suddenly felt a bit self conscious from studying his face so intently, but quickly realized that he hadn’t even noticed her yet. She was literally right next to him.

She spoke. “Um… Are you alright?”

No response. He was too entranced with his work, watching the lines of code appear in strands emanating from his keyboard.

“Would you like some coffee?” That seemed to catch his attention. He stopped typing and looked down at his empty cup.

“… Of course. Thank you.”

He handed her the cup and their hands slightly brushed over each other. His fingers were freezing, most likely due to typing for so long. She felt a slight shiver through her at the touch.  
She grabbed her cup on the way to the machine and looked at Klaus’ cup. The coffee at the bottom had long been dried. No one else in her team would of ever let their coffee dry up. She slowly filled the cups up with the warm liquid. He was the only one she knew that would take work over coffee.

He was still typing away, the same as when she left him. Galea set the cup on his desk. He took a large drink of it.

“Aren’t you tired? It’s already 1 am.” She may as well have a chat with him as she unwisely took a sip of her caffeinated drink.

He moved the coffee from his face to reply. “If you were that concerned with my sleep schedule you wouldn’t of offered this.” He gestured towards the cup in his hands with a slight smile.

Galea sighed. “I’m just saying you should get some rest. The project is almost complete and we wouldn’t want one of our top scientists snoozing when it’s done, right?”

Klaus chuckled. Very unlike him. “I don’t need that much sleep anyways. Alvis is my pride and joy. There’s no way I’d miss his completion for the world.”

She raised her eyebrow at the name he’d seemingly given to the AI. “Is that what you’re calling it? Alvis?”

She noticed that he’d been slowly sinking into his office chair this whole time. “Yes, I believe the name fits quite well for an intelligent computer system. Think about it- Al could be a nickname for Alvis. After all, lowercase L’s look like I’s on paper, eh?”

Galea laughed at the remark. He sunk a bit more in his chair. Under normal circumstances, she probably would of smirked or gave him a funny look. But for some reason in that moment under the dim lights, the clock nearing 2 am, and her tired body taking in the sudden caffeine, she couldn’t help but laugh. It was so strange to her, seeing Klaus not being serious and joking around about something that wasn’t even that funny to begin with. Could it be the stress getting to him? No, he always worked so effortlessly, it couldn’t of been that. Perhaps since the project was nearing completion he was just loosening up a bit? Possible, but hard to believe. Galea’s tired mind decided to stop thinking about it.

“Galea, laughing. Impressive… I suppose that’s my cue to get to bed.” Klaus got up, saved his work, and shut off the computer.

“Oh, same here, I suppose.” She didn’t feel like pulling herself out of the chair. _That’s what the caffeine was for_ , she thought, _but it’s just making my heart race and not energizing my body at all._  
She closed her eyes, wanting to sleep but knowing she shouldn’t do it here. Though before she could work up the energy to push herself up, she felt a hand on her head.

“Thank you… for talking to me, Galea.”

The hand pulled away and her heart sped up. _Stupid coffee._ His shadow grew small as he left through the door. She drug herself from the chair, gathered her belongings, and headed to her room.

On her way, she picked up a snack from the vending machine. She stared at the package. _Big Texas Cinnamon Roll._ Ignoring the ridiculous name, she figured she’d eat it for breakfast the next day. Or rather later this morning.

Galea was thankful she had a dormitory to herself. It was due to the rank of her job- she had more room to work as well as no roommate to bother her. Some of the lower positions had shared rooms, so she was thankful. She flopped down on her full sized bed with a thud and stared at the ceiling.

The realization of recent events suddenly popped into her mind and she felt her face heat up.

_That was embarrassing._

Klaus had pat Galea on the head. _What was that about? He never struck me as a touchy kind of person. I’ve never seen him act like that in the few years I’ve talked with him._

Her mind ran back to her thoughts when Klaus had remarked about the A.I, or as he called, Alvis. She’d concluded that it couldn’t of been stress that caused him to act so out of character. She thought about what he said before he left. Maybe he simply wanted to connect with someone, so he shared a part of himself instead of his usual dismissive demeanor. The timing and lack of other people might of made him more confident in sharing his thoughts.

Realizing that this was the most likely conclusion, Galea shifted in her bed and smiled to herself. She was a bit more appreciative that she stayed longer to work tonight. _I think I’d like to be friends with him, if he’s comfortable._ Something told her that he wouldn’t be this friendly in the morning. It was halfway until 2 am. She decided to find him in the breakfast hall in the morning before crashing off into a deep, caffeine induced sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Galea wakes from her slumber, groggy and cursing herself from making the decision to fall asleep at 2 am.

She reads the alarm clock. 7:32 am. She should probably get up now.

Her stomach growls. She pops the cinnamon bun into the microwave and yelps when she burns her hand on the sugary treat.

After breakfast and her morning routine, Galea headed towards the door. Suddenly, she froze. She remembered the promise she made to herself to find Klaus at breakfast. _Damn it. It was too early for this._ Her mind raced with thoughts of coming off too strong or her making some sort of mistake in front of him. She shook her head. _Get it together, Galea, it’s not like it’s that big of a deal!_ She elected to ignore her promise and instead slip into the breakfast hall for some coffee.

* * *

 

Turns out she was worrying over nothing. Klaus wasn’t even in there to begin with.

Galea let out a sigh that she didn’t know she was holding. She felt someone move next to her at the coffee machine and looked over. It was the man from last night, the one who fell asleep at his desk.

“Morning, Galea. Tell me, did you get as bad of a night’s sleep as me?” He grabbed a cup and started to fill it up.

“Tell me about it. The commanders’ been really pushing us lately to get the project done.”

He chuckled. “Well, at least we’re making good progress on it. With how well the final steps are going, we’re sure to be done quite soon.”

Galea frowned a bit. Her mind wandered to the future. _What would happen afterwards? Are we supposed to go back to Earth?... No, that would be impossible. Much too dangerous. I wouldn’t be surprised if we had to stay here and work for the rest of our lives._

Noticing that Galea was lost in thought, the man started up again.

“Well, it was nice talking to you Galea. I’m gonna head off to work. Cheers.”

Galea said a quick goodbye and finished getting her coffee. She sat down at a nearby table to muse over her thoughts for the day.

Light pink dusted her cheeks when she thought about yesterday. Making friends was harder than it looked. She wasn’t used to semi-intimate conversations with coworkers.

 _Stop being nervous. Just make some casual conversation and it’ll be fine. Someone had to take the first leap, and it definitely wasn’t going to be Klaus._ If anything, she found solace in the fact that it didn’t seem like he disliked her.

Galea would admit that many people on her team respected her. Being a higher rank had its perks. Unfortunately, it made it difficult to make any friends. Depending on which side it came from, it would come off as either pandering or favoritism. _Not like anything’s changed since leaving Earth._

It was nearing 8 am. _Time for work, I suppose._

* * *

 

Galea arrived at her desk, ready to execute her plan. She put on a smile and peeked around the computer monitor to see Klaus.

He definitely seemed more alert in the morning. It was as if a breath of fresh air compared to last night.

“Good morning, Klaus. Did you a good night’s sleep?”

“Not really.”

_Quite the talker, he is._

“Ah, that’s too bad. Neither did I.” Galea replied. _Awkward. How do I reply to that?_

She took a sip of coffee and got an idea.

“Oh hey, if you even need your coffee refilled, just let me know. I usually go up often for more so I don’t mind. So you can keep working, too.”

_Again, awkward. Had she come off too strong?_

He blinked and looked up at her. “Oh sure, that sounds nice. Thanks.”

She grinned. _Mission accomplished._

* * *

 

While she was working, she thought about why this place was here in the first place. Earth was barely inhabitable, war ravaged, and as big as a mess as it could get. The solution was to put a large portion of the citizens who could afford it in a large area called Elysium. She lived in a separate area for Rhadamanthus personnel, but often wished she could live there too. It was beautiful.

Her thoughts drifted back to the task she was working on. A grin grew on her face. She came to like the name Alvis and considered telling her coworkers about it. It was an incredibly powerful program that was meant to channel the power of the Conduit to advanced weapons that will protect the last of mankind on the station. Other than a source of other-worldly energy, no one knew anything else about the Conduit. Likewise, no one knows if… no, when another war will break out. Perhaps it was the reason the commander was pushing the deadline.

Galea decided to take a short break to clear her head. May as well refill her and Klaus’ coffee while she’s at it.

“Hey, I’m taking this. That alright?” she said gesturing at his cup.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” He gave a kind smile.

Galea smiled back and took it to the machine.

 _I could get used to this,_ she mused.

She made her way back to the desks and set Klaus’ cup next to him. Once again, he was engulfed in his work, like a trance.

It made Galea appreciate the slightly less stoic attitude he recently started treating her with. He was such a dedicated team member, so it was unusual for someone like him to act so cold towards others. _I suppose it got him the respect he deserves though._

 _Now that I think about it, there is sort of an intimidating aura around him,_ Galea thought. _He didn’t look too bad either._ If there was one thing that Klaus always got right, it was his hair. His blonde hair was always perfectly framed around his face, with a shine that made it look better. _Maybe he’s just very particular about it?_

Klaus shifts a bit in his seat. He takes a sip of his coffee, eyes still on the screen. Then he turns to Galea.

“… Galea. Are you that interested in my work? Or is there something on my face?”

_Damn it. I’ve spaced out again._

“Ahem. Sorry about that. Bad habit.” Her face is quickly heating up. _How long was I standing there? Was I staring at him? ...I need to get back to work._

Galea makes her way back to her desk. She falls into her chair with a _sigh_ and fidgets with her long silver hair. She sighs again. _What was I doing again...? Oh right, work…_

* * *

 

Another day over. Much more progress on Alvis was made, and like usual Klaus was still working at his computer at the late hour of one am. The man who overslept in the control room yesterday made sure to leave a bit earlier today.

Galea wasn’t going to stay much longer tonight as she needed to get her sleep schedule back on track. She finished her work and shut down the computer. _I wonder how Klaus is faring…_

She wandered over to his desk. His eyes flicking across the screen as usual.

“I’m heading off now. Are you sure you’re fine staying late like this?”

His face unwavering, he replied.

“Of course. In fact, I’m just about done with something.”

This piqued Galea’s interest. She leaned over into his area to get a better look at the screen.

On it was a fully modeled, male human figure. It wore a dark purple jacket and had a mysterious aura around it.

“I’ve made an interface for Alvis. And today, I finally finished it.” He leaned back in his seat and took a sip of coffee.

Galea was impressed. “Wow… This is incredible. When did you find any time to do this?”

Klaus smiled. “When I felt I made significant progress on the main project for the day, I worked little by little on this.”

 _He must have started months ago to get this far._ “This model looks almost real. Like it could walk out of the screen if it wanted to.” Galea turned her head towards him. “You’ve really made something to be proud of!”

Klaus turned his head away a bit. The light from the screen illuminated his face, exposing a smallest bit of pink. “Thank you. It means a lot.”

Galea grinned. “I’m just surprised that the commander hasn’t yelled at you yet for not working on the _assigned_ project.”

Klaus looked back. “I doubt the commander would care. I’ve probably made the more progress than _some_ people here.” He glanced toward Galea.

She walked to her desk and laughed. “Are you implying that I’m not pulling my weight? I’ll have you know I work just as long as you do… most of the time.” She pulled her chair over to his desk and sat down.

“Alright, alright, I believe you.” Klaus sighed. “Anyway, this interface is quite advanced. I’ve made it to be compatible with everything Alvis does, and depending on what his personality ends up being it will conform to it.”

When it came to work, Galea never ceased to be amazed at what Klaus could do with his computer. She was also amazed with how much he’d been talking to her. _It’s kind of endearing._

Since the topic of Alvis came up, she remembered her thoughts from earlier.

“Hey… what do you think is going to happen once we’re done? With Alvis, I mean.”

Klaus put his hand to his chin. “Hm… Well you know that we won’t be completely done once he’s at least working. Loads of testing must be done to make sure he’s working _correctly_. It could be months for all I know.”

“Well… I didn’t necessarily mean it like that. More in a, “do we go back to Earth or stay here forever” kind of way.” She gave a nervous laugh.

“Oh, is Galea actually scared of something? Do you not want to stay here?”

She sighed. “I don’t know… I just wish there weren’t any problems in the world.”

Klaus laughed. “Now _that’s_ wishful thinking. At least the wars’ given us jobs. And the safest area we could possibly work in. Couldn’t imagine a more convenient place to be.”

“It doesn’t ignore the fact that we have a giant target on ourselves as well. But I agree, you’re right. We’ve been entrusted with humanity. It better be safe.”

Klaus looked down. “Either way, this place is better than Earth by a long shot.” He finished off his cup of coffee.

Galea perked her head up. _Did something happen?_

Klaus turned off his computer, got up and walked over to the large pane of glass that separated the control room from outer space.

Galea took note of the time: it was nearly 2 am. Though she followed. No matter how many times she saw this view, she never got tired of it. The vastness of space intersected sharply with the war-ravaged planet. At least from this distance, it still looked beautiful.

The sun was slightly obscured by another part of the station, though some light still filtered into the room. The rays of light shone onto Klaus’ blonde hair, framing his face quite nicely. She looked away. _I wish I could ask him what that was about._

Klaus began to speak. “Life on Earth… was quite frustrating… for many reasons.”

She turned her head back toward him with a surprised expression. _Could he read my mind or something? Of am I just that obvious?_

Klaus put on a knowing smile. “Oh, come on. I know you’re curious.”

She blushed and looked away. “Well you’re the one who brought it up. How could I not be?”

“Oh, I suppose. Anyway, life on Earth was frustrating, to say the least. I pursued my passions, but it wasn’t enough. It felt too easy. There were no risks. Any way you looked at it, I would end up having an easy life with no hardships.” He glanced back at Galea. “I bet you think I’m arrogant for saying so.”

Galea had no idea. _Did life bore him that much?_ “Well it’s definitely understandable that you wished for a challenge. Most people aren’t born with that kind of gift, so it’s natural for you to aim higher.”

Klaus looked back to the stars. “Yes, I think it’s better to look at things objectively. So, when Rhadamanthus was looking for work, it was my ticket out. Something beyond the life I had on Earth. And hopefully, I never have to go back.”

Galea was amazed. She never thought such a story could be behind him. She thought back to her time on Earth. When she was accepted, she could only take her closest family, which was only her parents.

“Well, part of me really loves this place. It’s beautiful and safe. But I had a few friends down there. We were friends since childhood. The only real friends I’ve made in my life. It’s concerning to think if they’re still alive or not.” Galea closed her eyes in thought. She was getting tired.

Klaus moved to lean on the hand rail of the window, the sun still sparkling above him.

“Galea. If it comforts you, I heard there are still safe havens on Earth with plenty of survivors. I’d like to believe they made it there.”

Galea smiled warmly at him. “Thanks, Klaus.”

She walked closer to the window, gazing down to the land below. His words gave her reassurance.

Glancing at her watch, it was nearing 3 am. “Time sure flies by, huh. It seems you’ve kept me here longer than I was expecting.” She said with a sleepy laugh.

Klaus pushed himself off the edge and turned to look at her. “Sorry about that. I’m sure you’ve noticed but I don’t have many people to talk about those sorts of things with.”

“Oh no it’s fine, really! I feel the same way, actually. Did you want to walk with me?” Galea started toward the exit.

“Sure. Don’t take this the wrong way, but yes, I’ve noticed. You don’t really tend to talk to people either.”

 _Ah, I’ve been called out._ They locked up the control room and headed to the dorms.

“Yea, you got me there. It doesn’t bother me a whole ton, but I get by.”

Klaus looked sort of nervous in the dim hallway. “Well… if you every needed someone to talk to, I’d be willing to listen. It’s the least I can repay you for having you listen to my _tragic backstory_.” He laughed kind of nervously.

Galea turned her head to smile toward him. “Thanks. I’m afraid my _tragic backstory_ isn’t too interesting, but I’ll save it for another time.” She came to a stop in the hallway.

“Well, this is my stop.”

They stood there awkwardly in the middle of the hallway. Galea suddenly had an idea.

“Hey… Did you maybe want to get coffee sometime? We could finish our conversation.”

Klaus seemed to get a bit red in the face and agreed. “That sounds good to me.”

“Fantastic. We can sort out the details later.”

She moved to unlock her door. “Anyway, it was nice talking to you. Goodnight Klaus.” She said with a pink cheeked smile.

“And you as well. Cheers, Galea.” He waved his hand as he walked down the corridor.

* * *

 

A large sigh came from Galea as she entered her living room. She took off her lab coat and shoes and fell into bed. She pulled her sheets over her face in embarrassment.

_I can’t believe I said all of that…_

And to top it off, she asked to get coffee with him. _Was this some sort of date?_

_…No, it should stay a meeting between friends._

She closed her eyes and thought about everything that just happened.

_He opened up quite a bit tonight. It’s interesting to see him talk so passionately about his work. And with that much emotion he has, it’s not surprising that he told me all of that._

Another look at the clock made Galea cringe. It was 3 am. _It’s gonna suck even more tomorrow,_ she thought as she finally drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been like 3 months (school is all consuming) Hopefully everything makes sense! Thanks for reading :-)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first time writing any sort of fanfic. I'm not a big fan of writing but I love this pairing even tho there's not many on here! Thanks for reading!


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